A new report highlighting the impact of poverty on a child\u2019s performance in school is further proof that the Government got its priorities badly wrong in last week\u2019s budget, according to Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon.<\/p>\n
Deputy Gannon, who is the party\u2019s education spokesperson, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe \u2018Children\u2019s School Lives\u2019 study, which looked at 4,000 students in 200 primary schools around the country, should be compulsive reading for the Government.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe report found that poverty impacts on a student\u2019s education from a young age, with those from poorer families more likely to be placed in the lowest ability groups for reading and maths. The gap between the less well-off and wealthier pupils also appears to widen as they move from senior infants to second class.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the current Taoiseach and his predecessor both claiming they were committed to ending child poverty, last week\u2019s budget exposes this pledge for the shallow rhetoric that it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile some children living in poverty go to school without a warm coat, the Government presented a budget that gives millions in energy credits to the owners of second homes and squanders \u20ac9 million on mobile phone pouches for schools that nobody asked for.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast week, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) described the budget as a missed opportunity to lift thousands of children out of poverty in Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government parties seem to think that child poverty is inevitable. But nothing could be further from the truth. It is the direct result of political decisions made for short-term electoral gain \u2013 like last week\u2019s budget.\u201d<\/p>\n
October 9, 2024<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A new report highlighting the impact of poverty on a child\u2019s performance in school is further proof that the Government got its priorities badly wrong in last week\u2019s budget, according to Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon. Deputy Gannon, who is the party\u2019s education spokesperson, said: \u201cThe \u2018Children\u2019s School Lives\u2019 study, which looked at 4,000 students […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[552,542,218,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budget-2025","category-child-poverty","category-education","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n